Thursday, November 14, 2013

Sailor arrested for attacking taxi with didgeridoo

A cab driver in San Diego, California says he was in fear for his life after his car was attacked by a passenger armed with a didgeridoo. That passenger was 31-year-old Joaquin Gonzalez, a Navy sailor stationed at North Island.

Driver Duncan Dagbe said it was the cab ride from hell. "He just started hitting on the car. He hit here, bam and said, 'Leave! Leave!'" Dagbe said. "He had looked extremely drunk." On Sunday evening Dagbe said he picked up Gonzalez from a Mission Valley bar and drove him and a woman's home to Chula Vista.

Both fell asleep. Twenty minutes later, at the home in the gated community, Dagbe said the man woke the woman up and started to walk away. "I said, 'Hey, you haven't paid me yet," said Dagbe. He says Gonzalez became belligerent and refused to pay the $60 fare. Dagbe said Gonzalez used a didgeridoo to beat his cab.

"He chased me all over the place," said Dagbe. "At this point, I was just so frantic. I was afraid he was going to hit my windshield and all the glass come up on me. He definitely has to be checked out because something is wrong with him," said Dagbe. Repairs to the taxi are estimated to be about $5,000. Gonzalez faces a charge of felony vandalism. He has been released on bail.